Presses



March 18, 1958 J. o. CREEK PRESSES Filed Deo. 29, `1953 MT/jM// United States Patent C PRESSES John' Oliver Creek, Brampton, Ontario, Canada, assignor to A. V. RoeCanadaLimited, Malton, Peel, Ontario, Canada,. acorporation.

Application December, 1953',-Serial'N 400,913

41Claimsa` (Cl.'78-L60)1 two dies; into accurate registration.A These. guides are provided with generous leads to facilitateengagement; the workingclearances in -the slideways of the. ram-are. relied, upon .to accommodate any transverse ydisplacement of. theupper die in the process of registrationwith the` lower die. It is.unavoidable that wear will take, place -between the engaging surfaces of the. guides, because. of

the. inertia of the. comparatively large mass vof the ram andof the diesecured to it, whichinertiatends. toresist the transverse forces. exerted by. the guides.

Furthermore, it is usually expedient .tolocate the, guides at some distances from .the dies; the necessary working. clearances ofthe guides, and any subsequent wear there.- in, are consequently correspondingly magnified in the resulting inaccuracy of registration ofthe dies.

An object ofthe. invention therefore is to4 provide a construction which permits the readyand accurate registration of the diesin a press without causing excessive wear on the guides.

Another object of the invention is to provide a press construction in which the guides are located as closely accompanying drawings, in which like reference. chare acters indicate. corresponding parts throughout the. several views and in which:

Figure 1 is a p erspective view showing` a conventional forging press bolster plate on which a die is mounted in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken through the line 2-2 of Figure 1 and showing in addition a ram and its associated die constructed in accordance with the invention;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken throughthe line 3-3 of -Figure 1 and showing inaddition the ram and the associated die; and

Figure 4 is a top plan view ofthe lowerA die, audits associated shroud,

Referring to the drawings, there is` illustratedthe con ventional bolster plate member 11 of a typical forging press and the equally conventional. oppositely disposed reciprocatable ram member 12 which is movable towards and away from the bolster plate member during a forg: ing operation. A base 13 (and the hereinafter described components mounted on it) is firmlyv secured to either of the members; in the drawings it isshown as` being "ice secured tothe bolster plate member 11 by means ofva stud and nut assembliesll.

A channel 1'54 is provided by recessing aportion of thesurface of 1the base relative to the contiguous-portions 16 on each side thereof, the bottom of the channel being inclined relative to the surfaces ofthe. contiguous .pore` tions 16,. Slidably mounted within the channel is-a,wedge member 17 having a major surface 18 whichis comple: mentary tothe inclined surface ofthe channelwhenits. opposite major surfaceg19 is. parallelto thesurfaeesf the contiguous. portions 16Y of thebase. The thicker end of the wedge member 17 protrudes from the. channel and carries a flange 20 which overlaps theadjacent. end face of the base. Longitudinaladjustment of the wedge member in the channel may be elfectedbymeansofav set screw 21 which is threaded, in the ange. 20.. andengages. the adjacent end face. of the. base, .andfby mean of opposing.. lock nuts 22. threaded on studs. 23 which extendfrom the aforesaid end-face andpass-througll clearance holes in theflangeZO. lt will be appreciated that Aby alteringthe longitudinal adjustment of .thewed'g in the channel the height of its major surface 19re1tiile to, thecontiguous portions 16 of the base may bevaried` Supportedon thecontiguous portions 16 ofthebase 13.'.and bridging the recessed portion or channel' 15is` a shroud'24.` The shroud is so mounted on thebaselhai it is held in .engagement therewith whilst itr is .fret-tol slide,thereon. As may be seen particularly in AFigures l and 3 grooves 25'are provided in the side facesv of the shroud,' and these are engaged by flanges or keepers 26. secured tothe base. The keepers permit. somei.de gree of lateralmovement and unlimited longitudinal movement between the shroud and the. base, butthey, securely holdv the shroud against the base. Longitudif nal movement of the shroud is limited by stop 27'which extend from the base and are adaptedY tocn:. gagethe end faces of the shroud. Preferably the keepers. and the stops are set to` permit movement of the shroudrelative to the base of ls" in any direction.

Extending through the shroud in the portionvthereof which is opposite the channel in the base, is an opening.. defined by side walls 28. Securely held therein against movement in any direction parallel to the base is a die 29' of conventional construction, comprising a substan.` tially rectangular steel block having an impression 3 0. of the part to be forged sunk in its upper face. Therdie is restrained against movement by plates 31 and wedge 32. The plates and wedges are disposed between the perimetrical walls ofthe die and the adjacent walls 28A of the opening, each plate being opposed by a wedge.. The opening is. not accurately rectangular in plan View.; its walls in contact with the wedges are complementaryv to the wedges. Thus, the die 29 is held squarely between. the wedges 32 and the plates 31 when the wedges are driven home. The corners of the opening are. relieved as indicated for example at 33 in Figure 1, to accepta taper drift whereby the wedges may be driven in. or out.. T he plates 31 and the wedges 32 are provided'with generous radii along their inner upper edges 31a.an 1 32a respectively, and with externally extending flanges 31b and 32b respectively along their outer upper edges to engage the contiguous portions 16 of the shroud.,

The. die 29 is supported on the base by means Ofhl vwedge. member 17. Thus, the. wedge memben prevents:

movement 0f the die in a direction normaltotheplanet of the base. Since-the shroud 24 is not required tofproa vide any support for the. die it can be oflrelltiyelyg,light construction.- Itshould also be noted that-.theheighrofr the die measured. from-:the plane of the base 131 andA normal vthereto is less than the height of the shroudsrni larl'y measured; sothatfthe side-walls ZlofftheJ openingl 3 and likewise the plates 31 and the wedges 32 which line the side walls extend above the die.

The ram 12 of the press carries a rigidly mounted upper die 34 of conventional construction. The outer plan form of the die 34 is similar to the outer plan form of the die 29, and therefore the plates 31 and the wedges 32 which line the side walls 28 of the opening in the shroud define an opening or female element which is at least in part conplementaryto the die 34; relative to the said opening, the die 34 provides a male element. The perimetrical walls of the die 34 are slightly relieved so that, as the ram descends, the die 34 will slidably enter the opening defined by the plates and the wedges. Thus, complementary means associated with the dies 34 and 29, namely, the perimetrical walls of the die 34 in cooperation with the plates and the wedges which define the opening in which is held the lower die 29 provide guides for the accurate registration of the two dies; no other guide is required.

To set up the lo\'-.'er die 29 on the forging press, it is first mounted in the opening in the shroud 24 by means of the plates 31 and the wedges 32 to form a unit which for convenience is referred to as the die assembly. The base i3 with the die assembly supported on it is then located on the bolster plate 11 in a position which will allow the upper die 34 to enter easily into the space defined by the plates and the wedges when the shroud 24 is substantially centrally disposed between the two stop pins 27 and between the two :keepers 26. The bolts 14 are then tightened.

The height of the die 29 is adjusted by then loosening the wedges 32 and adjusting the set screw 21 and the lock nuts 22 until the required height is obtained. The wedges 32 are then driven into the locked position again.

During the forging operation the upper die enters the opening defined by the plates and the wedges, and any misalignment between the two dies which will be present is accommodated easily by a sliding movement of the die assembly on the base under the guiding influence of the rounded edges 31a and 32a of the plates and of the wedges. Due to the comparatively small mass of the die assembly, the inertia loads imposed upon the plates and the wedges will not be very high and therefore will not cause any appreciable wear. Accurate registration of the upper and lower dies will therefore be maintained over a long period of use. Lifting of the shroud 24 during retraction of the ram is prevented by the keepers 26 which, as hereinbefore stated, are so arranged in the grooves of the shorud so as to resist any movement of the shroud relative to the base in a direction normal to the plane of the base.

Since by the construction described, provision is made for a sliding movement of the relatively light lower die assembly, the ram of the forging press is not required to accommodate any misalignment of the two dies. This reduces wear of the slideways of the press and permits smoother operation than has heretofore been possible.

It is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of the parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

What we claim as our invention is:

l. ln a press having a bolster plate member and an oppositely disposed reciprocatable ram member movable towards and away from the bolster plate member, a base rigidly secured to one member, a portion of the surface of the base being recessed relative to the contiguous portions on either side thereof'the recessed surface being inclined relative to the surfaces of the contiguous portions, a shroud supported on the said contiguous portions of the base and bridging the recessed portion, restraining means on the said -contiguous portions of the base and coupled to the shroud to hold it in engagement with the base whilst permitting sliding movement of the shroud on the base, an opening dened by the wedge on the recessed portion of the base to thereby vary the height of its aforesaid opposite surface relative to the aforementioned contiguous portions of the base, a first die supported on the aforesaid opposite surface of the wedge, the said die being accommodated in the opening in the shroud and securely held therein against movement in a plane parallel to the plane-of the aforesaid contiguous portions of the base, a second die including a male element secured to the other member, the male element being at least in part complementary to the opening, the male element slidably engaging the side walls of the opening to slidably move the shroud and the first die on the base and to enable the dies to register as the ram member is moved towards the bolster plate member during normal operation of the press.

2. 'A die structure for use in a press having a bolster plate member and an oppositely disposed reciprocatable ram member movable towards and away from the bolster plate member, the structure comprising a base for rigid attachment to one member, a first die mounted on the base with freedom of lsliding movement in directions normal to the direction of movement of the ram member relative to the bolster plate member, restraining means securely holding the said die in engagement with the base whilst permitting said sliding movement of the said die on the base, a second die for rigid attachment to the other member, a male element associated with the second die and a female element associated with the first die and with which the male element is adapted to slidably engage, the engagement of the two elements causing the aforesaid sliding movement of the first die on the base so that the dies mutually register as the ram member is moved towards the bolster plate member during normal operation of 'the press.

3. A die structure for use in a press having a bolster plate member and an oppositely disposed reciprocatabic ram member movable towards and away from the bolster plate member, the structure comprising a base for rigid attachment to one member, a shroud mounted on the base with freedom of sliding movement in directions normal to the direction of movement of the ram member relative to the bolster plate member, restraining means securely holding the shroud in engagement with the base whilst permitting said sliding movement of the shroud on the base, the shroud having an opening defined by sidc walls, a first die accommodated in and securely held in the shroud opening, a second die including a male element for rigid attachment to the other member, the male element of the second die being at least in part complementary to the opening in the shroud, the male element being adapted to slidably engage the side walls of the opening to slidably move the shroud together with the first die on the base in the aforesaid normal directions and to enable the dies to register as the ram member is moved towards the bolster plate member during normal operation of the press.

4. A die structure for use in a press having a bolster plate member and an oppositely disposed reciprocatable ram member movable towards and away from the bolster plate member, the structure comprising a base for rigid attachment to one member, a first die supported on the base, a shroud having a face which bears on the base and having an opening defined by side walls and in which the first die is encompassed and firmly secured, the first die andthe shroud together having freedom of sliding movement on the base in directions normal to the direction of movement of the ram member relative to the bolster plate member, restraining means securely holding the shroud and the first die in engagement with the base whilst permitting said sliding movement of the shroud and the rst die on the base, the rst die being disposed below the plane of the face of the shroud which is opposite the face which bears on the base so that the side Walls of the opening extend above the rst die, a second die including a male element for rigid attachment to the other member, the male element being at least in part complementary to the aforesaid opening, the male element being adapted to slidably engage the side walls of the opening to move the shroudand the first die on the base in the aforesaid normal directions and to enable the dies to register as the ram member is moved towards the bolster plate member during normal operation of the press.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Seaver Dec. 30, 1879 Ames July 4, 1911 Clark Nov. 7, 1911 Bell June 14, 1921 Derbyshire Dec. 26, 1922 Hill July 29, 1924 Merrill et al. Aug. 17, 1926 Gullborg June 2l, 1927 Shank Sept. 3, 1935 Bath Dec. 21, 1948 Lyon Sept. 21, 1954 

